If you are ever, as I often am, in need of a quick garden writing fix – maybe a drop of wisdom from Beth Chatto, Gertrude Jeykll, Vita Sackwill-West or Dan Pearson – then Of Rhubarb and Roses is for you.
The book is a compilation of articles from the gardening section of the Telegraph. Tim Richardson was tasked with the job of going through the cuttings, and you can imagine the pile of paper he must have been presented with particularly since the newspaper has had a dedicated gardening column of one form or another since the late 1950s. I think he has done an excellent job bringing together a diverse and interesting group of articles all of them well written. The authors include many of our well known and loved writers. As well as the four above there is Christopher Lloyd (a personal favourite), Rosemary Verey, Roy Strong, Elspeth Thompson and Fred Whitsey who was the resident garden writer at the newspaper until his death in 2009.
The book, an impressive weighty tome of 448 pages, covers everything from growing vegetables and fruit, through wildlife gardening, gardening in the city, eccentric gardeners, trees, pests, weather, bulbs and alpines. It is fascinating to see how views about such things as Leylandii have changed over the years and how some ideas aren’t as new as we think. Such as this view of meadows from the late 1980s
“Your little copse underplanted with spring flowers is a real pleasure but your new meadow garden, urged on you by conservationists, has not yet proved its worth,…”
Anne Scott-James 1988
The earliest article I found dated from 1938 ‘Tips for Window-Boxes’ by someone called H H Thomas and this leads me to my only real criticism of the book. I would have liked to see a list of the contributors at the back of the book with a brief note of who they were – whether they were horticulturally trained, amateur gardeners or whatever. Personally I think this adds an additional insight into the article and also history of gardening and garden writing. But even without this addition the book gives you a powerful insight into the history of gardening over the last 60-80 years and you will discover that the language, terms, and fads may change but essentially advice given in 1955 is as relevant today as then.
So as I have said if you want to treat yourself to an anthology of excellent garden writing or are looking for a present for that special gardener in your life, although it is a bit late now for Christmas, then Of Rhubarb and Roses is the book for you.
Disclaimer: this book was provided by Aurum as a review copy